Apparatus for compacting sausage casings



.R, L.. SAINT-DENIS APPARATUS FOR COMPACTING SAUSAGE CASINGS Filed April10, 1967 Oct. 8, 1968 4 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 8, 1968 R. L.. SAINT-DENISAPPARATUS FOR COMPACTING SAUSAGE CASINGS 4 sheets-sheet' 2 Filed Aprill0, 1967 Oct. 8, 1968 R. l.. sA|NT-DEN|s '3,404,428

APPARATUS FOR COMPACTING SAUSAGE CASINGS v Filed April lo, 1967` 4shets-sheet :s

@ Lqo lll/lll l Oct. 8, 1968 R. L. SAINT-DENIS APPARATUS FOR COMPACTINGSAUSAGE CASINGS l 4 Sheets--Shecatv 4 Filed April l0, 1967 United StatesPatent O 11 claims. (ci. 17-42) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An apparatusfor shirring and compacting sausage casing tubes which comprises (l) amandrel adapted to receiving the tubes; (2) shirring means positionedfor shirring the tube on Said mandrel to form a casing stick; (3) meansfor severing a predetermined length of said stick; (4) means foradvancing the severed link of stick along said mandrel to a compactingstation; (5) means at said compacting station for compacting said stickaxially to a predetermined shorter length, the means for severing thepredetermined length of the stick and the means for advancing thesevered length of the stick comprising a pair of carriages disposed atopposite ends of the said mandrel; (6) means for causing each of thecarriages simultaneously to be advanced toward center of the mandrel,and (7) springs means for returning each of the carriages to theiroriginal position.

This invention relates, generally, to an apparatus for treating sausagecasings, and, more particularly relates to an apparatus forautomatically compacting a casing composed of natural or syntheticmaterial into a form that is Suitable for packaging.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.452,482, filed May 3, 1965, now abandoned.

It is customary to shirr and to compact sausage casings in order tobring them into a compact form suitable for packaging and shipment foruse on standard filling machines. The shirring generally consists ofaxial compression by which a long casing becomes firm and rigid, saidcasing is then further compressed to form a hollow stick of a standardlength which is placed on the rod of the funnel in the filling machine.In the filling operation, the stick is filled at the end, tied to closeit, and is then gradually unfolded for the filling of the casing whichthen resumes its original shape.

In the prior art, various types of machines have provided for shapingand compacting casings, the casings are inflated by air and arerepeatedly moved in an axial direction by successive mating groups oflateral teeth while the casing end is retained by a stop.

When a given length of casing, for example, 20 to 30 meters is shirredto form a hollow stick, it is then transferred axially on a compression(shirring) rod for a final length reduction, after which the stick isready for packing in a carton for shipment to a sausage factory.

The present invention relates to an improved apparatus for shirring andcompacting sausage casings, such as that described, for example, inMatecki Patent 2,983,949. It is clearly evident to the workers in thisfield that machines of the Matecki type are usually quite long andrequire considerable work on the part of the operator.

Therefore, the present invention provides a machine for shirring andcompacting casings which permits the worker assigned to the machine toremain at the point of output, and the only necessary operation is theremoval of the sticks of shirred and compressed casings from 3,404,428Patented Oct. 8, 1968 ICC the compression rod and finally placing thesticks in packing cartons.

Thus, the present invention provides for a simple additional, automaticdevice having a means for securing a desired length of shirred casing,providing as well, internal lubrication and axial transfer of the hollowstick of shirred casing to the compression rod. and finally, compressionof the same. The subject invention is particularly applicable to acasing machine of the type illustrated in Matecki Patent 2,983,949,which patent clearly shows and describes a machine for shirring atubular casing to form a compact casing stick of the type described.However, it is clearly obvious that the subject invention may be appliedto various other types of machines which are adapted to produce similartype sticks.

Additionally, the present invention provides a means for finallycompressing such a stick to a state which is suitable for packaging, oruse without further processing.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the device includes aholdback resiliently mounted on a first carriage `which is advancedalong the mandrel to engage and restrain the shirred casing as it comesfrom the shirring head and is advanced by an endless chain and sprocket.The chain also passes over a sprocket that tension loads the coil springmeans during the holdbacks advance, while at the same time a secondcarriage is similarly advanced toward said first carriage. When a stickof predetermined length has been shirred, shirring stops. Shearing meanscut the shirred casing adjacent the shirring head, the tranfer jawsengage the mandrel after the severing means concurrently as the holdbackis disengaged therefrom, and the coil spring is released to abruptlyreverse the motion of the carriages, thereby separating the shirredstick and pushing it along the mandrel to the compacting zone. After thecompacting operation, the casing is manually doffed from the mandrel.

The nature of the invention will be better understood from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein aspecific embodi ment has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings:

FIG. l and l-A, when joined along the line 1 -a, show side elevation ofa machine embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line of 2--2 of FIG. l,showing the severing mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. l-A,illustrating the details of the compression station; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken on the line 4 4 of FIG. l-A, showing atransfer mechanism and its spring return.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a set of three gear wheels 1 (third wheel notshown) shirrs an infiated casing and moves it from left to right. Theshirred casing is pushed along the hollow rod tube wherein the device,according to the present invention, is placed parallel to hollow rod 2and the necessary elements are set up between the two supports 3 and 4;said supports are fixed by junction plates 5, and 6 on the structure ona standard casing machine, for example, as that illustrated in Matecki2,983,949.

Two parallel bars extend toward the two supports 3 and 4. A first bar 20carries a stirrup carriage 9 and a second bar 8 carries a stirrupcarriage 10. Carriage 9 is connected by a bolt 11 to an endless chain13. A pin 44 on hub 12 is connected with the carriage which will bedescribed in greater detail below in connection with FIG. 2. The endlesschain 13 passes over the several sprocket wheels 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18.One of the sprocket wheels is provided with a spring return in order tokeep the endless chain 13 properly tensioned (as shown in FIG. 4, whichwill hereinafter be described). It will be noted, however, that theprecise means of spring tensioning the endless chain 13 and the carriage10 does not go to the essence of the present invention, and anyconventional means of spring biasing will suffice for this purpose andtherefore no specific embodiment has been selected for completeillustration.

The carriage is connected by a bolt 19 to a second endless chain 7 whichpasses over sprockets 21, 22, 23 and 24. The tension assembly (FIG. 4)is also used for the spring return of the carriage 10. The sprockets 17and 21 are connected by a common hub 2S. Additionally, the carriage 10serves as support for an arm 26. The two endless chains 7 and 13 move inopposite directions and with the rotation of the hub 25, the sprockets17 and 21 turn in the same direction but the chains move in oppositedirections. A strong spiral spring 28 is fastened at one end 28-A to thehub 25, while the other end of the spring is joined to a Xed part 29;see FIGURE 4.

The arm 26 carries two pincer jaws 28-B and 28-C (note FIGURE 3) withthe jaws spread by spring 29-A. These two jaws are movable on pivot pin30. Arm 26 is attached to a ring, or sleeve, 31 inside of which is a key32 which is slideable in a longitudinal slot 32-A in bar 8. Arm 26 isrigidly connected to a second arm 33 which is connected with a tractionrod 34 (FIG. 3), the other end of which rod is pivoted at 35-B (FIG. 3).A jaw gripper 36 is provided of standard construction and its functionis to inject at the left, near wheel 1, an aerosol of oil via aperturesin hollow rod 2 into a casing for internal lubrication of the inflatedcasing to be shirred. The aerosol is discharged up the line via rod 2.An upper jaw 36-A is mounted on a shaft 37-A while a lower jaw 36-B ismounted on a shaft 37-B. The shafts 37-A and 37-B are operativelyconnected to members 37-C and 37-D for operation in unison. The shaft37-B is rigidly connected to a member 38 which in turn is pivoted at 39to a traction rod 40, said rod 40 connected by a pin 35-A to an arm 41-Aon head 42-A which is keyed to shaft 43 driven by the rotation of shaft37-B for the opening and closing of the jaws of the gripper 36.

The shearing mechanism of FIGURE 2 includes a fixed support 43-Aprovided with a plate 44-A which has a semicircular groove 45 therein inwhich the shirred casing is centered. This fixed support 43-A hasdisposed therebelow a hub 12 provided on the inner surface with a key 48interacting with the longitudinal groove 47 of the bar contained withinsaid hub. An arm 50 is connected to the hub 12 and said arm 50 has atits end a pivot pin 51 for the two movable jaws 52-A and 52-B spread atthe ends by a biasing spring 53 (actually a compression spring whichtends to approach 52-A and 52-B). The tips of the jaws are equipped withtwo small spring wires 53-A, extending inwardly as indicated at 54-A anda spring wire S3-B extending inwardly as indicated at 54-B. Uponrotation of the rod 20, these springs sever the shirred casings betweenthem.

Referring now to FIGURE 1-A, S5 denotes a cam on the rod of a jack 56said cam having a compression arm 57. The shirring machine is equippedwith a second jaw gripper 58 like the jaw gripper 36, which is disposedon the right end of rod 2.

When carriage 9 is in position A, as shown in FIGURE l and engaged oncompression rod 2 with grippers 36 and 58 closed, carriage 10 isdisposed in a return position and the compression arm 57 is engaged onthe shirring bar 2. The compression arm 57 then returns to the left andmeans, not shown, open gripper 58 in the manner described for gripper36. Carriage 9 then moves rightwardly toward gripper 36 and carriage 10is simultaneously directed leftwardly toward position A.

When carriage 10 arrives in position A, extreme left carriage 9 stops,gripper 58 closes (by conventional means, eg., electrically controlledswitch), thus having previously made it possible for the worker toremove the product casing, gripper 36 opens by a cam (not shown) andthereby causes shaft 37-B to pivot, causing the rotation of bar 20carrying carriage 9 and the severing means by a cam as well as that ofbar 8 carrying carriage 10 by means of the shaft 43. The rotation of bar20 causes the small springs 53-A and 53B to close in on the casingswhile on the stick whereby the shirred casing is sheared.

The rotation of bar 8 causes jaws 28B and 28-C of arm 26 to be engagedon shirring rod 2 to the right of the cutting device (bars 20 and 8 aresimultaneously rotated).

The transfer of the casing is initiated by the movement of carriage 9 tothe right, and the simultaneous movement of carriage 10 to the left. Atthe ends of their strokes of travel the drive means for the carriagesare released automatically and the nal transfer of the casing is causedby rapid return of the carriage 10 toward the right of the device, andreturn of carriage 9 to the left because of their spring loading. At theend of this movement, arm 26 acts on the stop 59 which operates lever 62and causes compression arm S7 to engage the shirring rod by known meansnot shown. Gripper 36 closes, and the jaws 28B and 28-C are thenreleased and a new cycle can start.

While a particular embodiment of the present invention has beenillustrated by way of specific example, it is to be understood that thepresent invention is in no way to be deemed as limited thereto butshould be construed as broadly as any or all equivalents thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. In an apparatus for shirring and compacting sausage casing tubes theimprovement which comprises a mandrel adapted to receive said tube,shirring means positioned to shir the tube on said mandrel to form acasing stick, means severing a predetermined length of said stick, meansadvancing the severed length of stick along said mandrel to a compactingstation, and means at said compacting station for compacting said stickaxially to a pre-determined shorter length wherein the means foradvancing and severing said stick comprise a pair of carriages disposednormally at the opposite ends of said mandrel, means advancing each ofsaid carriages toward the centerof said mandrel, and spring meansretracting each of said carriages to its original position.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein the paths of said carriagesoverlap at the center of said mandrel whereby the casing stick is rstadvanced by one of said carriages to a central position and is thenadvanced by the other of said carriages to a nal position at saidcompacting station.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 in which said carriages are drivenby power means including endless chains.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which releasable clamping meansis provided for said mandrel at a central position between said shirringstation and said compacting station to permit the casing stick to beshifted therethrough from shirring position to compacting position.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 in which a second clamping means isprovided to cause said central gripping means to grip a mandrel and asecond gripping means to release said mandrel to permit withdrawal ofthe compacted casing stick therethrough.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including means associated withsaid central clamping means for injecting a lubricating fluid into saidcasing.

7. In an apparatus for shirring tubular cellulosic casing and compactingit comprising a mandrel bar onto which said tubular casing it fed,shirring means disposed adjacent the front end of said mandrel bar forshirring said casing to provide a casing stick, casing severing meansdisposed rearwardly of said shirring means to cut a predetermined lengthof the shirred casing, advancing means for moving said cut length ofcasing toward the rear of said mandrel bar to a compacting station. andcompressing means adjacent said compacting station to compress saidlength of casing into a shorter length wherein said advancing meansincludes a carriage, and an endless chain sprocket means for drawingsaid carriage.

8. The apparatus of claim 7 wherein spring means are operativelyconnected to said carriage to return it to its initial startingposition.

9. The apparatus of clairn 8 wherein said severing means includesIpincer jaws with a spring member for 10 3,110,058

each jaw.

10. The apparatus of claim 9 wherein releasable clamping means areprovided between said shirring station and compacting station forreleasably gripping said length of casing.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 wherein lubricating fluid means areoperatively connected to said clamping means 5 for injecting alubricating fluid into said casing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,983,949 5/1961 Matecki 17-4211/1963 Marbach 17-42 3,112,517 12/1963 Ives 17-42 3,315,300 4/1967Ziolko 17-42 LUCIE H. LAUDENSLAGER, Primary Examiner.

